A vital aspect of any CCT program involves determining how training
effectively enhances expatriates’ cultural knowledge and skills and facilitates
expatriates’ adjustment to the host country’s culture. Cross-cultural training
effectiveness is reflected by the cognitive, affective, and behavioralchanges that
occur during the CCT event. In order to improve the effectiveness of CCT pro-
grams, or to maximize the change that occurs during training, it is important
to follow a systematic approach to designing effective CCT programs. Research
has shown that a well-designed CCT program can enhance the learning process
of the expatriate and thus facilitate effective cross-cultural interactions and
cross-cultural adjustment (Black and Gregersen, 1991; Caligiuri et al., 2001).
This chapter focuses on the systematic process for designing effective CCT
programs. The process for designing effective CCT programs consists of five dis-
tinct phases:
1 Identify the type of global assignment for which CCT is needed.
2 Determine the specific cross-cultural training needs.
3 Establish the goals and measures for determining training effectiveness.
4 Develop and deliver the CCT program.
5 Evaluate whether the CCT program was effective.
This process for designing effective CCT programs is presented in Figure 11.1.
Each phase in this process will be described in greater detail in this chapter.
2 PHASE 1 – IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF GLOBAL ASSIGNMENT
The type of global assignment should be taken into consideration when
designing CCT programs. As many authors point out (e.g., Caligiuri, forth-
coming; Caligiuri and Lazarova, 2001; Hays, 1974; Oddou, 1991), there are differ-
ent types of global assignments – and expatriate practices, such as selection,
cross-cultural training, and repatriation will differ depending on the type of
global assignment being managed. Based on the performance goals for expatri-
ate assignments, Caligiuri (forthcoming) describes a classification of global
assignments into four categories:
1 Technical
2 Functional/tactical
3 Developmental/high potential
4 Strategic/executive
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